Browsing by Subject "Dating relationships"
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Item Differences in dating relationships : an examination of attachment, disclosure, and relational uncertainty(2013-05) Pett, Rudolph Clarence; Dailey, René M.This study assessed the associations between adult attachment, disclosure, and relational uncertainty in both cyclical and non-cyclical dating relationships using a sample of 114 participants. The analysis revealed significant relationships between relational disclosure and relational uncertainty, attachment avoidance and relational disclosure, attachment anxiety and relational uncertainty, as well as attachment avoidance and relational uncertainty. Relational status (i.e., cyclical/non-cyclical) was neither related to relational disclosure or self-disclosure, nor served as a significant moderator between relational disclosure and relational uncertainty or self-disclosure and relational uncertainty. The results are considered in terms of how individual characteristics shaped by interpersonal interaction (i.e., attachment, relational uncertainty) are associated with specific communication patterns (i.e., disclosure) in dating relationships.Item New daters’ acute physiological responses to a standardized stressor : do nonadaptive hormone responses forecast romantic breakups?(2016-05) Graham, Jamie Lee; Gleason, Marci Elizabeth Joy; Loving, Timothy J.; Neff, Lisa AThe quality and longevity of any romantic relationship depends in large part on the manner in which individuals respond to stressful situations (Karney & Bradbury, 1995). Research on the link between stress and relationship outcomes has focused almost exclusively on marital relationships. With this in mind, the current study explored associations between general stress responses (i.e., reactivity and recovery) to a psychosocial stressor and nonmarital breakup status. Data were collected as part of a larger 9-month longitudinal study investigating the mental and physical health outcomes associated with relationship transitions (e.g., breakups). Participants underwent a standardized stress protocol (i.e., The Trier Social Stress Test; Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993) that incorporates motivated performance tasks, uncontrollability, and social-evaluative threat—all of which are key components to reliably eliciting a stress response (Dickerson & Kemeny, 2004). Physiological reactivity and recovery were assessed using samples of salivary cortisol, a stress hormone of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis—one of the body’s primary stress response systems. Results from multilevel modeling indicated that cortisol trajectories among those whose relationships persisted versus those whose relationships ended were not significantly different from one another. Additionally, individuals who displayed nonadaptive hormone responses to a novel setting and a standardized stressor (i.e., took longer to recover, demonstrated greater increases in total cortisol output) were no more likely to report experiencing a breakup than were individuals who displayed adaptive responses to the same settings. Findings are discussed with regard to identifying factors that may be related to patterns of physiological function and nonmarital relationship outcomes.Item Relationship commitment and monitoring alternatives using Facebook in unmarried romantic relationships(2013-08) West, Adam Redd; Gershoff, Elizabeth T.Recent technological innovations affecting romantic relationships include the rise in prominence of social networking sites (SNSs), including Facebook. SNSs have become an increasingly fundamental part of developing and maintaining relationships. A majority of research focuses on the ways in which individuals access SNSs. Less studied is how individuals' use of SNSs affects their romantic relationships. An important aspect of the stability of romantic relationships is the construct of commitment. Relationship commitment is conceptualized as the intent to continue a relationship into the future and is composed of many constructs that can either keep individuals in or pull them away from the relationship. One aspect that may pull individuals away from their relationship is the quality and availability of potential alternatives, or relationship forms other than the current one. There is evidence that using tools like Facebook may prompt individuals to pay attention to alternative relationship options. This study examined how SNSs use may affect current relationships with a sample of 645 unmarried individuals in dating relationships and with current Facebook accounts. All participants completed measures of their Facebook use, relationship commitment, and attention to relationship alternatives. A sub-sample of 432 participants were randomly assigned to one of two study conditions. One condition prompted participants to view the Facebook profiles of friends that they might consider as possible relationship partners and the other condition prompted participants to view organizations they follow on Facebook. Analyses indicated that Facebook monitoring condition did not predict differences in individuals' reported commitment. However, hierarchical regression analyses using the full sample revealed that high levels of online monitoring of alternatives were associated with low levels of commitment for both males and females, but more so for males. Analyses also revealed that low levels of satisfaction predicted high levels of monitoring of alternatives and high levels of Facebook use predicted high levels of online monitoring of alternatives. These results suggest that tools such as Facebook can be used to monitor alternatives, yet doing so may negatively affect current romantic relationships. Future studies should explore these relationships by using a repeated measures design to assess change over time.Item The relationship between conflict and communication, sex, relationship satisfaction, and other relational variables in dating relationships(Texas Tech University, 2007-05) Zacchilli, Tammy Lowery; Hendrick, Clyde A.; Reich, Darcy A.; Garos, Sheila; Hendrick, Susan S.Whether couples have been dating a few months or have been married for many years, conflict is likely an inevitable part of the relationship. According to Canary, Cupach, and Messman (1995), how couples handle conflict informs other areas of their relationship, such as how satisfied they are in their relationship. Thus, when examining other relational variables it is important to understand how individuals approach conflict with their partner. In Study 1, the relationships between three conflict strategies (i.e., compromise, emotional reactivity, interactional reactivity) and other variables such as satisfaction, respect, sexual attitudes, and self-disclosure were assessed. In Study 2, items for a new conflict scale, the Romantic Partner Conflict Scale (RPCS; 39 items), were developed and subjected to a factor analysis. Six factors emerged: Compromise, Domination, Submission, Separation, Avoidance, and Interactional Reactivity. The relationships between these six strategies and respect, commitment, and satisfaction were assessed. The goals of Study 3 were to confirm the factor structure of the RPCS and to relate the six subscales to self-disclosure, sex, commitment, love, satisfaction, and respect. Confirmatory factor analyses tested two, three, five, and six factor models. The six factor model resulted in the best fitting model. Alphas for the subscales ranged from .84 to .96 and the subscales correlated appropriately with the other relational variables. Implications for this new conflict scale, as well as limitations of the studies, are discussed.